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Sierra prime ministerial election, 2016
The Sierra prime ministerial election of 2016 was held on Friday, October 14, 2016 and was the 39th prime ministerial election. The election was held nationwide and was open to all eligible citizens in all three constituent countries of the Kingdom of Sierra: Deseret, Hawaii, and Sierra, excluding the unincorporated territories. The Royalist nominee, Senator Daniel McComb of San Joaquin, and his running mate, former Governor Leslie Steele of Kings, was elected into office, defeating the incumbent party, the Democratic-Republicans, and their nominee, Governor Terry Scott of San Francisco and his running mate, former Minister of Labor Catherine Mendoza. Due to the nature and voting method of the Sierran prime minister, in all technicality, all prime ministerial elections including the 2016 one have been effectively s. The election coincided with the 2016 Sierran general elections with seats for all Commoners in the House of Commons, all "Class-B" senators from the Senate, governors in 16 provinces, and numerous other provincial and local offices up for contest, with the Royalists securing a firm hold over both houses of Parliament. The initial Democratic-Republican nominee was incumbent Prime Minister Steven Hong, who, along with his running mate, Deputy Prime Minister Preston Bolivar, secured the nomination over the Democratic-Republican from San Francisco challenger, Governor Terry Scott. Hong was selected as the official nominee for the Democratic-Republicans in June, but less than three months later, during a special event along his campaign trail, Hong was assassinated on August 12, 2016, just two months before the election. Following Hong's untimely death, the party chose frontrunner Terry Scott as their new nominee. Prior to Hong's death, the dominant theme in the election year was foreign policy, particularly with Mexico, and the rise of Ameroskepticism against the Conference of American States. With Hong's death however, the prevailing theme was national security, and the resolution of crisis between the radical republicans and monarchists in Sierra, as well as the fate of the post-recession national economy. Other issues included education, healthcare, military spending, race relations, and taxation. Background According to the Constitution of Sierra in Article IV, it states that in order for a person to be elected Prime Minister of Sierra, they must be a citizen of the Kingdom (a citizen of the Deseret, Hawaii, Sierra, or any of the Sierran territories) with "no loyalties to any foreign state or organization" (e.g., no ) who is at least 25 years old, a resident of the Kingdom for at least 10 consecutive years or 14 years with 7 years in a "consecutive fashion", and been free of conviction and punishment for a for 20 years and 5–15 years of all other crimes. If a citizen is , they must be a citizen of the Kingdom for at least 15 years. Since the foundation of Sierra, although never mentioned in the Constitution, candidates for the Prime Ministry must seek nomination from one of the many political parties in Sierra. All of the major parties use s to determine the candidate that they will nominate to represent their party. The primaries are generally s where participating voters from each second-level administrative division in Sierra cast ballots for party delegates pledged to a specific candidate. The prime ministerial primary season for the 2016 election began in February starting with the Central Valley caucus on February 2, and will formally conclude for all major parties by June 7. At the end of the primary season, all of the parties hold a national convention where party leaders and delegates convene to vote for a candidate to nominate. Unlike the primaries, the general election in October is nationwide (and does not include residents of unincorporated territory) and , with raw soley used to determine the winner. The incumbent, Prime Minister Steven Hong, a Democratic-Republican and former Governor of the Gold Coast, has sought his second reelection. As there is no provision in the Constitution or any other law that imposes s on individuals holding the office of the Prime Minister, Hong's bid for a third term is permitted although only one Prime Minister (Kirk Siskind) in Sierran history has ever successfully gone into a third term. Hong was first elected as Prime Minister in 2008, defeating then-incumbent Prime Minister and Royalist nominee Matthew Braggs and Libertarian nominee Joshua Kirkland with 54% of the popular vote, succeeding his electoral rival and the two-term Royalist Prime Minister Braggs. Upon inauguration, Hong became the first Korean Sierran, the second Asian Sierran, the fifth Gold Coaster, the seventh former governor, and the twelfth Democratic-Republican to serve as Prime Minister. Should Hong serve the remainder of his term and lose the nomination or general election, the next Prime Minister will become the 23rd Prime Minister of Sierra. 2010 midterm elections During the 2010 elections, the Conservative coalition (consisting of the Royalist and Libertarian parties) gained six seats in the House of Commons, seizing control of the chamber over the Progressive coalition (consisting of the Democratic-Republicans, Greens, and Social Democrats). In the Senate, the Conservatives gained two seats short of obtaining a majority. The shift to the Conservatives under Hong's administration was largely attributed to the lagging recovery from the 2008 financial crisis and opposition to the administration's efforts to expand healthcare and Social Security. 2012 prime ministerial elections In the 2012 elections, Hong ran for a second term and gained the Democratic-Republican nomination virtually uncontested, allowing Hong to focus specifically against competing with the Royalist and Libertarian nominees (Paul Roemmer ® and Ryan Porter (L) respectively). Hong narrowly placed first in the election on October 16, 2012, ahead of Roemmer by almost 1%, forcing a the following day, beating Roemmer by 0.4% in one of the closest races in Sierran electoral history. In the same general elections, the Conservative coalition maintained their control over the House of Commons with minor losses while the Senate saw no net change in party composition, allowing the Senate to remain under the control of the Progressive coalition. 2014 midterm elections The elections saw one of the lowest turnouts in Sierran history, and resulted in no net change in either of the houses, allowing the Conservatives to retain their majority in the House whilst the Progressives in the Senate. Democratic-Republican Party Incumbent Prime Minister Steven Hong was the first Democratic-Republican to announce their candidacy for the prime ministry, and made an official announcement in a speech on February 27, 2015. Nationwide opinion polls indicated that public approval had declined sharply during the second half of Hong's second ministry, in large part due to slow economic recovery and several administration-related scandals. San Francisco Governor Terry Scott became the second Democratic-Republican to announce their intention to run for nomination on March 18, 2015. Former Santa Clara Senator Anais Patel was the third major Democratic-Republican to enter the run, joining in on May 13, 2015, followed by Laguna Senator Joe Rapoport on June 1, 2015. San Jose Mayor Bobby Ziyar was the last major Democratic-Republican candidate to enter, doing so on June 2, 2015. On October 13, 2015, following the first Democratic-Republican debate the night before, Patel withdrew from the race, urging voters to select the candidate who had the "best interests in preserving democracy and fairness". During the Central Valley caucus, Hong won with 34% of the votes, ahead of his closest contender, Terry Scott who had 31%, followed by Rapoport with 24%. Ziyar dropped out, and endorsed Terry Scott for prime minister during his withdrawal speech. Scott won San Joaquin with fifty-eight percent compared to Hong with twenty nine and Rapoport with thirteen. In the province of the Gold Coast, Hong's home province, Hong secured sixty eight percent of voters over Scott's eighteen and Rapoport's fourteen. Nominee Former major candidates *'Bobby Ziyar': Mayor of San Jose (2012–present). Suspended campaign on February 2, 2016. *'Anais Patel': Former K.S. senator from Santa Clara. Suspended campaign on October 13, 2015. *'Joe Rapoport': Former K.S. senator from Laguna. Suspended campaign on April 28, 2016. *'Steven Hong': Prime Minister of Sierra (2008-2016). Assassinated; posthumously suspended campaign through Preston Bolivar on August 12, 2016. File:Joe Rapoport.jpg|Former Senator Joe Rapoport of Laguna File:Steven Hong.jpg|Prime Minister Steven Hong of Sierra Royalist Party Nominee Former candidates *'Mark Sandstrom': K.S. Senator from Wasatch (2006–present). Suspended campaign on May 12, 2016. File:Mark Sandstrom.jpg|Senator Mark Sandstrom of Wasatch Libertarian Party Nominee Former candidates *'Emily Malkus': Chairwoman of the National Liberty and Reason Caucus (2008–present) *'Porter Offerman': K.S. Senator from Clark (2010–present) File:Emily Malkus.png|Chairwoman Emily Malkus of the National Liberty and Reason Caucus File:Porter Offerman.jpg|Senator Porter Offerman of Clark Party conventions Communist Party *May 14–16, 2016: San Francisco City, San Francisco Democratic-Republican Party *June 7–9, 2016: Bernheim, San Joaquin Green Party *June 7–9, 2016: Eureka, Plumas Libertarian Party *June 7–9, 2016: Riverside, Inland Empire Royalist Party *June 7–9, 2016: Santa Barbara, Kings Social Democrats *June 10–13, 2016: Oakland, Santa Clara Debates Assassination of Steven Hong See also *Prime Minister of Sierra *Elections in Sierra Category:Kingdom of Sierra Category:Elections in Sierra